Large water, sewer and gas pipelines are typically made up of sections of pipe which are joined together at a joint. In order to fluidically seal the joint, a large rubber gland or “gasket” is typically installed at the joint between two pipes. See, for example, FIG. 1 which shows two pipes 5, 10 meeting at a joint 15. Joint 15 is typically characterized by a gap 20 between the two pipes. A gasket 25 is disposed in gap 20 so as to fludically seal joint 15. By way of example but not limitation, in the plumbing industry, this type of joint is sometimes referred to as a “mechanical joint”.
Gasket 25 is typically installed into gap 20, between pipes 5, 10, by striking the gasket with a hammer so as to drive the gasket into the gap between the two pipes and thereby fluidically seal the gap between the two pipes. It will be appreciated that, to this end, it is desirable to strike the gasket with a blunt hammer surface, as opposed to striking the gasket with a “pointed” hammer surface (such as that found on brick and claw hammers) since it is important not to damage the gasket during gasket installation. In this respect it will be appreciated that such brick and claw hammers are commonly found at construction sites but their use for installing pipe gaskets is strongly discouraged (and in some cases prohibited) by pipe installation inspectors. It will also be appreciated that, when installing a gasket into the joint between two pipes, it is desirable to strike only the gasket with the hammer, and to avoid striking an adjacent pipe, since this could damage the pipe.
It has been found that traditional ballpeen hammers lack sufficient mass to drive the gasket into the gap between the pipes.
It has also been found that traditional sledge hammers are too large for use in hammering gasket 25 into gap 20, i.e., they are too large to strike the gasket without also striking the adjacent pipe.
It should be appreciated that significant force is typically required to drive the gasket into the gap between the two pipes. Force is generated by a user swinging the hammer, however, the user requires space around the junction of the two pipes in order to swing the hammer and generate a sufficient force to drive the gasket into the gap between the two pipes. This can present a challenge where access to the gasket is limited, e.g., where the two pipes which are to be joined are located in a trench. Furthermore, it is often necessary to access all sides of the joint between the two pipes so as to ensure that the gasket is driven evenly and effectively into the gap between the two pipes. In order to reach all sides of the pipe joint, a user must typically reach over and/or around the joint in order to hammer the gasket into place. Thus, it can be difficult to effectively strike the gasket with the hammer, and/or to generate enough force with the hammer to drive the gasket into the gap between the two pipes, particularly where access to the gasket is limited.
Ideally, it is preferable to use a hammer comprising a substantially rectangular, non-square strike surface (i.e., a strike surface matching the radial thickness of the gasket) to hammer the gasket into place, since this allows maximum contact with the gasket without striking the adjacent pipe. However, when using a hammer having such a substantially rectangular, non-square strike surface, the user needs to be able to address the gasket “head on” (i.e., facing the radius of the pipe) such that the substantially rectangular, non-square strike surface of the hammer appropriately addresses the gasket. Unfortunately, this requires the user to “move around” the joint when installing the gasket so as to ensure that the substantially rectangular, non-square strike surface of the hammer always addresses the gasket “head on”.
Thus there is a need for a new and improved hammer which is configured to deliver sufficient force to a gasket in order to install the gasket into the gap at a joint between two pipes. There is also a need for a new and improved hammer which allows a user to efficiently apply a substantially rectangular, non-square strike surface to the gasket without requiring that the user move around the joint between the two pipes so as to ensure that the substantially rectangular, non-square strike surface of the hammer always addresses the gasket “head on”.